Cat S60 Is The World’s First Thermal Imaging Smartphone

Michael Moore joined TechWeek Europe in January 2014 as a trainee before graduating to Reporter later that year. He covers a wide range of topics, including but not limited to mobile devices, wearable tech, the Internet of Things, and financial technology.

Smartphone fans looking for a device that won’t run away crying when dropped from a small height will today be welcoming a new release from tough machinery experts Caterpillar.

The Cat S60 can definitely lay its claim to being the world’s toughest smartphone, and comes equipped with an embedded thermal camera from FLIR which is able to visualise heat that is invisible to the naked eye, can pick up heat and measure surface temperatures from a distance of up to 50 to 100 feet, and is even able to see through smoke.

The device also features waterproofing technology far beyond any other device on the market today, as it can survive in depths of up to 5 meters for one hour, allowing it to be used as an underwater camera.

Tough

Caterpillar is keen to emphasise just how tough the Cat S60 is, claiming that, ‘it exceeds military spec’, being able to withstand drops onto concrete from up to 1.8 meters thanks to a strengthened die cast frame, as well as being heavily dustproof.

The 7in HD screen is built using highly reflective Gorilla Glass 4 that means it can be read even in bright sunlight, and the touchscreen can be controlled with wet fingers or while wearing gloves.

There’s a 3,800mAh battery that has been optimised to provide all-day life, and a 13MP main camera with dual flash, 5MP front-facing camera.

Inside, the Cat S60 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage, so there’s lots of space for images. The device runs Android Marshmallow 6.0 and features 4G LTE connectivity, meaning it really is one for use out in the field.

Set to go on sale later this year, the Cat S60 will cost around £415 in the UK.

“The Cat S60 represents a milestone for smartphones,” Peter Stephens, CEO Bullitt Group, global mobile device licensee for Caterpillar. “We are excited for thermal technology to be in the hands of Cat phones customers and to discover the myriad of daily time and efficiency use cases it will present for them.”